Department for Communities and Local Government

Right to Buy Scheme: Housing Associations

Baroness Bakewell of Hardington Mandeville: To ask Her Majesty’s Government for each local authority area what they expect to be the average discount from the Right to Buy scheme for housing association tenants in London.

Baroness Bakewell of Hardington Mandeville: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what the average right to buy discount is expected to be for housing association tenants outside London; and whether they will break this data down by local authority area.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: Working with the National Housing Federation, the Government has secured an historic agreement with housing associations to give their tenants the opportunity to buy their home with Right to Buy discounts equivalent to those enjoyed by Council tenants, up to a maximum discount of 70% of market value, or £77,900 (£103,900 in London), whichever is lower. This will deliver the manifesto commitment to extend the benefits of Right to Buy to 1.3 million housing association tenants.

Homelessness: Veterans

Lord Browne of Belmont: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what programmes are currently in place to help homeless veterans sleeping rough in the United Kingdom; and what plans they have (1) to help such individuals into permanent housing, and (2) to prevent veterans becoming homeless in the first instance.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: This Government is committed to preventing and tackling homelessness and protecting the most vulnerable in society, including veterans.We have changed the law so that former service men and women with urgent housing needs are always given high priority for social housing, and cannot be disqualified from social housing because of a local connection requirement.Since 2010, we have invested over £500 million to prevent homelessness among the most vulnerable. Our £20 million Homelessness Transition Fund has supported the roll-out of No Second Night Out across England ensuring more rough sleepers, including veterans, are found and helped quickly so that they do not spend more than one night on the street.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Turkey: EU Enlargement

Lord Stoddart of Swindon: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of reports that the German Chancellor has promised to facilitate the full entry of Turkey to the European Union, what assessment they have made of (1) the impact of Turkish membership of the European Union on the United Kingdom's voting powers, and (2) whether all Turkish nationals would have rights of access to the United Kingdom under the existing free movement provisions.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: The British Government supports EU enlargement, subject to candidate countries meeting the requirements. Any impact on the UK’s voting powers would depend on the specific issue being discussed and be contingent on the provisions in place on voting weights following any new accession.Arrangements on free movement of people of any new Member state depends on transitional controls at the time of accession to the EU. The Government recognises the concern caused by the large-scale movement of people that has followed the accession of new countries to the EU. This issue would be subject to negotiation as part of the accession process. The Prime Minister, my right hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron), has made clear that there needs to be reform of the transitional controls on free movement of workers before any further countries join the EU.

Lebanon: Diplomatic Service

Lord Hylton: To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they expect their new Ambassador to Lebanon to be in post.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: Hugo Shorter has been acting as Charge d’Affaires to Lebanon since 5 September.We are currently seeking agrément for a substantive Ambassador from the Lebanese authorities. As soon as it is granted, a permanent appointment will be announced.

Israel: Palestinians

Lord Ahmed: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of reports regarding increasing violence towards Palestinians by Israeli troops.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: As the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr. Hammond) said on 9 October, “We condemn all acts of violence, including attacks by Palestinians and by Israeli settlers. We urge all sides to take immediate steps to de-escalate the tensions and avoid actions that threaten to exacerbate the situation”. In his Statement of 13 October, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my hon. Friend the Member for Bournemouth East (Mr. Ellwood), said, “We are also concerned by the use of force by Israeli security personnel in response to protests and security incidents”.

Israel: Palestinians

Lord Ahmed: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have provided any advice to (1) the Palestinian authorities, and (2) the government of Israel, regarding the peace plan or the two-state solution.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: The UK has made clear in conversations with the Palestinian Authority and the Israeli government that the best way to achieve a just and lasting resolution that ends the occupation and delivers peace for both Israelis and Palestinians is through negotiations. However, in order to achieve this, there must be an environment conductive to peace. That is why since the start of the current violence we have spoken regularly to both the Palestinian Authority and the Israeli government, urging them to use their influence to de-escalate the tensions.

Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

UK Membership of EU

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of the result of the Federation of Small Businesses poll showing that 47 per cent of small businesses would vote to stay in the European Union.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: An error has been identified in the written answer given on 26 October 2015.The correct answer should have been:

The Government is focused on delivering a successful renegotiation: it believes it can succeed in reforming and renegotiating our relationship with the EU. The reforms we have in mind will benefit business and investment, and we know that many businesses are supportive of them. As the Prime Minister made clear in his Bloomberg speech, this is about providing the certainty and reform that businesses have asked for.The Government is focused on delivering a successful renegotiation: it believes it can and will succeed in reforming and renegotiating our relationship with the EU and campaigning to keep the UK in the EU on that basis. Many of the reforms we have in mind will benefit business and investment, and we know that many businesses are supportive of them. As the Prime Minister made clear in his Bloomberg speech, this is about providing the certainty and reform that businesses have asked for.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: The Government is focused on delivering a successful renegotiation: it believes it can succeed in reforming and renegotiating our relationship with the EU. The reforms we have in mind will benefit business and investment, and we know that many businesses are supportive of them. As the Prime Minister made clear in his Bloomberg speech, this is about providing the certainty and reform that businesses have asked for.The Government is focused on delivering a successful renegotiation: it believes it can and will succeed in reforming and renegotiating our relationship with the EU and campaigning to keep the UK in the EU on that basis. Many of the reforms we have in mind will benefit business and investment, and we know that many businesses are supportive of them. As the Prime Minister made clear in his Bloomberg speech, this is about providing the certainty and reform that businesses have asked for.

Time Zones

Lord Tanlaw: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of whether the prime meridian can be correctly identified and correlated with GPS by the construction (with permission) in Greenwich Park of a suitable marker located at zero longitude.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: As the reference frame for the Global Positioning System (GPS) is established through a mathematical interpretation of satellite radio signals, rather than a physical meridian, it is not conceptually appropriate to represent it in the same way as other meridians have historically been marked at Greenwich.We do not see any practical benefit in changing the reference point for UT1 even if it was a decision the UK Government could make unilaterally. Such a change could cause confusion as could use of the term “Greenwich Meridian Time”. In line with the International Telecommunication Union Radio Regulations, all time‑signal broadcasts in the UK transmit. the international timescale UTC, and so any change to UT1 or GMT would have no impact on the time-signal available to the UK public.

Time Zones

Lord Tanlaw: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the case for the civil timescale Greenwich Mean Time being renamed Greenwich Meridian Time, with a value of UT1 at longitude zero based on GPS rather than the historic location of the prime meridian.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: As the reference frame for the Global Positioning System (GPS) is established through a mathematical interpretation of satellite radio signals, rather than a physical meridian, it is not conceptually appropriate to represent it in the same way as other meridians have historically been marked at Greenwich.We do not see any practical benefit in changing the reference point for UT1 even if it was a decision the UK Government could make unilaterally. Such a change could cause confusion as could use of the term “Greenwich Meridian Time”. In line with the International Telecommunication Union Radio Regulations, all time‑signal broadcasts in the UK transmit. the international timescale UTC, and so any change to UT1 or GMT would have no impact on the time-signal available to the UK public.

Apprentices

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how they plan to improve the quality of the apprenticeship schemes, in the light of the conclusion in Ofsted's report that very few apprenticeships are delivering professional level skills.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: We have been taking steps to improve the quality of apprenticeships, including insisting that all apprenticeships should be paid jobs with substantial stretching training and robust assessment procedures and last for a minimum of 12 months. We are committed to delivering employer-led apprenticeship reforms, which are improving the quality of apprenticeships to provide the skills that employers need.The availability of apprenticeships at a range of levels is essential to meet the skill needs of employers and improve productivity. We are committed to growing the numbers of Higher and Degree Apprenticeships, which are widening access to the professions, and developing the higher level technical skills needed to improve productivity and support British industry to compete internationally.

Aviation: Noise

Lord Soley: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to support research into new aircraft and engine technologies to reduce noise emissions from aviation.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: The Government is supporting industry investment in the development and deployment of technologies for new aircraft, including technologies for new engines, aero structures and advanced systems, to reduce noise and other emissions from aviation.This support is integral to the work between industry and Government through the Aerospace Growth Partnership and the Aerospace Technology Institute (ATI), which published its Technology Strategy 2015 in July. To date, 100 ATI projects, worth around a total of £1bn, jointly funded by industry and government have been approved; and the majority of these are focused on technologies required to produce greener, more efficient and environmentally friendly aircraft.

Aviation: Exhaust Emissions

Lord Soley: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they have taken to develop a supportive environment in the United Kingdom for the development and deployment of new aircraft and engine technologies in order to reduce emissions from aviation.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: The Government is supporting industry investment in the development and deployment of technologies for new aircraft, including technologies for new engines, aero structures and advanced systems, to reduce noise and other emissions from aviation.This support is integral to the work between industry and Government through the Aerospace Growth Partnership and the Aerospace Technology Institute (ATI), which published its Technology Strategy 2015 in July. To date, 100 ATI projects, worth around a total of £1bn, jointly funded by industry and government have been approved; and the majority of these are focused on technologies required to produce greener, more efficient and environmentally friendly aircraft.

Tickets: Sales

Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they are taking in the light of the 21 October Which? investigation reporting that listings on some ticket resale websites are in breach of the Consumer Rights Act 2015.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: Where there are alleged breaches of legislation, enforcement authorities have powers to take appropriate action. Consumers or their representatives should report any alleged breach through the Citizens Advice consumer helpline who will report substantive breaches to Trading Standards, or to the police, to take enforcement action as appropriate.The Government has launched an Independent Review of consumer protection measures in relation to ticket resale and online Secondary Ticketing facilities under Professor Waterson, and Contributions and evidence from interested parties are welcome. This review will gather evidence on how well the Consumer Rights Act’s new ticketing provisions and wider consumer protections are working.

Department for International Development

UN Agencies: Finance

Lord Hylton: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have made representations to the governments of France, Japan, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates, with respect to their contributions to the budgets of the United Nations agencies which assist refugees and displaced people; and whether those contributions are not as large as those of other countries with comparable gross domestic product.

Baroness Verma: The UK has been at the forefront of the response to the Syrian crisis. To date, we have committed over £1.1 billion, making us the second largest bilateral donor after the US.We are concerned that UN appeals for the Syria crisis remain severely underfunded. Donors must do more to support the needs of millions of Syrians across the region. That is why the UK continues to play a leading role in encouraging the international community, including EU member states and Gulf countries, to contribute generously to the UN appeals. We lobbied hard to mobilise funding from other donors ahead of the third Kuwait Pledging Conference on 31 March 2015 which raised $3.6 billion. We are exploring with the UN and major donors how best to ensure that the momentum on fund-raising is maintained in the longer term, including in response to the upcoming 2016 Appeals.

Department for Education

Equality

Lord Ouseley: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the Prime Minister's party conference speech, when and how they will provide details of policies and programmes aimed at achieving the elimination of inequalities in the United Kingdom.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: This government is determined to extend opportunity to everyone. We have announced a number of new initiatives that will help achieve equality of opportunity in the UK.On 25th October, the Prime Minister and the Minister for Women and Equalities announced new measures to eradicate gender pay inequality. The government now requires larger employers to publish information about their bonuses for men and women. We are also extending our plans for gender pay gap reporting to the public sector.On 26th October, the Prime Minister launched a public and private sector initiative to tackle discrimination in recruitment. A number of organisations, including KPMG, HSBC and Deloitte, together with the Civil Service and local government, have committed to using name-blind applications for all graduate and apprenticeship level roles.In addition, on 22nd October, the Home Secretary published diversity profiles on all police forces in England and Wales. These profiles showed that no force had a black and minority ethnic (BME) contingent equivalent to that of the local demographic. She has asked chief constables to use this information to help improve their recruitment, retention, and promotion of police officers from BME backgrounds.

Ministry of Justice

Immigration: Appeals

Lord Lester of Herne Hill: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what guidance they give to first-tier tribunals about what is a reasonable time to hear and determine asylum and immigration appeals.

Lord Faulks: Guidance is not given to the First-tier Tribunals about what is a reasonable time to hear and determine asylum and immigration appeals. The Tribunal Procedure (First-tier Tribunal) (Immigration and Asylum Chamber) Rules 2014 provide an overriding objective for the Tribunal to deal with cases fairly and justly including avoiding delay, so far as is compatible with proper consideration of the issues.

Court Orders

The Earl of Clancarty: To ask Her Majesty’s Government under what legislation and on what grounds courts in the United Kingdom can make orders for the destruction of (1) original photographs, (2) paintings, and (3) artwork in other media.

Lord Faulks: There is a range of powers that enable the forfeiture of such items.Section 143 of the Powers of Criminal Courts (Sentencing) Act 2000 provides a general power of forfeiture allowing the courts, on conviction of an offence, to make an order depriving an offender of any rights in lawfully seized articles or articles in the possession or under the control of the offender at arrest or summons which were used, or intended to be used, for the purpose of committing, or facilitating the commission of, an offence or in relation to which the offender was convicted of an offence involving unlawful possession of property.Section 5 of, and the Schedule to, the Protection of Children Act 1978 allows the forfeiture of any indecent photograph, pseudo-photograph or prohibited image of a child and any property which it is not reasonably practicable to separate from that property following any lawful seizure. The police must give notice of any intended forfeiture of such property and where forfeiture is contested the court must determine the issue.Section 3 of the Obscene Publications Act 1959 allows the courts power to order the forfeiture of obscene articles kept for publication which have been seized under a warrant issued under that section.

Sexual Offences

Lord Campbell-Savours: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many persons imprisoned for sexual offences have been returned to prison after failing lie detector tests by polygraph; and how many were referred for polygraph tests in the last period for which statistics are available.

Lord Faulks: Polygraph tests for certain sexual offenders on licensed supervision in the community first became available in August 2014. As of October 2015, 681 sexual offenders had been made subject to polygraph testing as a license condition and had been referred for testing to the National Offender Management Service. As of the same date, 22 sexual offenders were recalled as a result of disclosures which they had made in connection with their polygraph test, whilst one was recalled for failing to attend a test which had been arranged.

Saudi Arabia: Prisons

Lord Falconer of Thoroton: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will publish the Memorandum of Understanding between the United Kingdom and the government of Saudi Arabia, which was signed on 11 September 2014.

Lord Faulks: The Information Commissioner’s Office has upheld the decision not to publish this Memorandum of Understanding. That correspondence, dated 10 August 2015, can be found on the website of the Information Commissioner’s Office.

Prisoners' Release

Lord Falconer of Thoroton: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether and when they expect to introduce proposals on earned release for offenders; whether such proposals will involve legislation; and whether they will be subject to consultation.

Lord Faulks: The level of re-offending following a custodial sentence is too high and we are looking at a variety of ways to make sure that when offenders leave prison they are better rehabilitated and better equipped to lead a crime-free life. We are attracted to the idea of earned release for those offenders who make a commitment to serious educational activity, who show by their changed attitude that they wish to contribute to society and who work hard to acquire proper qualifications which are externally validated and respected by employers. We are currently considering the options available in this area.

Prison Governors

Lord Falconer of Thoroton: To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they intend to introduce proposals to give prison governors more power; and whether any such proposals will be subject to consultation.

Lord Faulks: As the Secretary of State made clear in his speech on 17 July, we need a new and unremitting emphasis on reform and rehabilitation in prisons – and we need to put the tools to drive this change in the hands of those who work with prisoners on a day-to-day basis. Prison Governors need greater freedoms so they can innovate and find new and better ways of rehabilitating offenders. With these freedoms will also come sharper accountability, so prisons are judged and rewarded according to how well they perform. This will make sure that that prisons are best equipped to help prevent reoffending. Further details of our proposals will be provided in due course.

Prisoners: Repatriation

Lord Falconer of Thoroton: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have signed a prisoner transfer agreement with the government of Jamaica.

Lord Faulks: During the recent visit by the Prime Minister, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed with the Government of Jamaica. The Memorandum of Understanding will pave the way to the negotiation of a prisoner transfer agreement between the United Kingdom and Jamaica, in exchange for UK financial support for the construction of a new prison in Jamaica. The funding will only become available after the prisoner transfer agreement is signed and after satisfactory completion of each stage of the prison build.

Animal Welfare: Sentencing

Lord Browne of Belmont: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what guidance is provided to magistrates and judges about when it is appropriate to apply the maximum tariff available in cases of animal cruelty.

Lord Faulks: Animal cruelty is a summary offence with a maximum penalty of a level 5 (unlimited) fine and/or 6 months’ imprisonment. The maximum penalty for any offence is set by Parliament to deal with the most serious possible cases. Guidance on sentencing for this offence is contained in the Magistrates’ Courts Sentencing Guidelines, which are published by the independent Sentencing Council.These are the sentencing starting points from the guidelines for animal cruelty, based on a first time offender pleading not guilty:Examples of nature of activityStarting point RangeRangeOne impulsive act causing little or no injury;short term neglectBand C fine Band B fine to medium level communitySeveral incidents of deliberate ill-treatment/frighteningHigh level community orderMedium level community order to 12 weeks custodyAttempt to kill/torture; animal baiting/conducting or permitting cock-fighting etc.; prolonged neglect18 weeks custody12 to 26 weeks custody

Graham Ovenden

The Earl of Clancarty: To ask Her Majesty’s Government under what legislation the Metropolitan Police has brought the action against Graham Ovenden to order his collection of art to be forfeited and destroyed.

Lord Faulks: This action was brought under section 5 of the Protection of Children Act 1978. The Government believes in freedom of expression in the arts, but it is imperative that we have robust laws to prevent the making of indecent images of children. Decisions on the destruction of any artwork are made by our independent courts and may be subject to appeal.

Department for Culture, Media and Sport

Nuisance Calls

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to reduce the number of nuisance phone calls made in order to extract money from businesses and consumers.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: Tackling the problem of nuisance calls is an important priority which we are tackling on a number of fronts.In April this year we made it easier for the Information Commissioner’s Office to tackle nuisance calls by lowering the legal threshold for action and enabled OFCOM to issue bigger fines to companies breaking the rules.In the past five years, the average fine has been £85,000 with a recent fine of £200,000 by the Information Commissioner. Until 2011 fines were capped at £5,000.Consumers and businesses can report fraudulent or scam activities to Action Fraudby calling0300 123 2040, or through their website at:http://www.actionfraud.police.uk/report_fraudWe are seeking the development of more innovativeproducts to help consumers block unwanted calls. As part of budget measures announced in March to help more vulnerable consumers, we have launched a competition fund with Innovate UK to do this:https://sbri.innovateuk.org/competition-display-page/-/asset_publisher/E809e7RZ5ZTz/content/nuisance-calls/1524978We will also be consulting on making it mandatory for all directmarketing callers to provide their calling line identification (CLI) so that consumers can see who is calling them.We welcome the work being done by OFCOM and by Which? to help consumers know what steps to take to deal with the receipt of nuisance calls.

Department for Work and Pensions

Universal Credit

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many families with three or more children born before 6 April 2017 they estimated would be affected by the proposed two-child limit for new claimants for Universal Credit in the calculations of the Budget policy costings for (1) 2017–18, (2) 2018–19, and (3) 2019–20.

Lord Freud: The information requested is not available for publication.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Motor Vehicles: Exhaust Emissions

Baroness Jones of Whitchurch: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations, if any, they have made to British Members of the European Parliament about voting against European Union legislation requiring countries to carry out spot checks on the emissions of vehicles under real operating conditions.

Lord Gardiner of Kimble: In July this year, Defra prepared a voting brief for British MEPs concerning the revised National Emission Ceilings Directive. This advised MEPs to oppose an amendment which included the introduction of spot checks on vehicle emissions under real operating conditions, because the aim of the amendment and how it related to existing regimes was unclear. The Government supports the implementation of real driving emissions testing for vehicles but strongly believes that this should be addressed in the appropriate legislation to ensure clarity.

Diesel Vehicles: Exhaust Emissions

Baroness Jones of Whitchurch: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the timescale for complying with the Supreme Court judgment about tackling illegal levels of diesel fumes in British cities.

Lord Gardiner of Kimble: The Supreme Court’s judgement ordered the Government to prepare revised air quality plans and submit them to the European Commission by the end of 2015.

Air Pollution

Baroness Jones of Whitchurch: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what additional resources will be made available to enable local authorities to introduce clean air zones.

Lord Gardiner of Kimble: The Government is currently consulting on draft plans to address nitrogen dioxide levels in the UK, including proposals for a framework for Clean Air Zones in England. The principal responsibility for deciding whether to introduce a Clean Air Zone, or other appropriate measures to tackle air quality, will rest with relevant local authorities. The Government is considering the appropriate incentives required to help secure the delivery of the air quality plans.

Agriculture: Sustainable Development

Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the report by the Land Use Policy Group published in June, The role of agroecology in sustainable intensification.

Lord Gardiner of Kimble: Defra officials have reviewed this report and contributed to its development. The report concluded that agroecological practices have the potential to benefit the sustainability of farming without adversely affecting productivity and profitability. It also found that agroecological approaches can particularly reduce the impact of farming on biodiversity, water quality, soils and greenhouse gas emissions. The report has informed further research, which is being undertaken through the Defra Sustainable Intensification Research Platform.

Natural Resources

Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what changes they intend to make to evaluation metrics at both farm and regional and landscape levels to take account of natural capital in policy-making decisions.

Lord Gardiner of Kimble: The Government formally launched the development phase of its 25 year environment plan on 14 October 2015. This process will run through 2016 and capture all aspects of natural capital. We will draw on the Natural Capital Committee to help develop it. A key part of it will be to ensure we have the right tools to improve decision-making at all scales so that we can get the most from our resources in order to deliver on our goal of having the best environment possible.

Cetaceans: Japan

Lord Taylor of Goss Moor: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Gardiner of Kimble on 16 September (HL2163), whether they will place in the Library of the House a copy of the letter of July 2015 from the Minister of State for Farming, Food and Marine Environment to the government of Japan on the United Kingdom's opposition to their ongoing coastal hunts and continued programme of lethal scientific research on cetaceans (whales, dolphins and porpoises); and also a copy of any reply received.

Lord Gardiner of Kimble: A copy of both the letter and the response received will be placed in the Library of the House. These are also attached for reference.



HL2834 - Letter from Minister Eustice to Minister 
(PDF Document, 1.18 MB)




HL2834 - Letter from Minister Hayashi to Minister 
(PDF Document, 7.37 KB)

Cetaceans: Faroe Islands

Lord Taylor of Goss Moor: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Gardiner of Kimble on 17 September (HL2164), what were the responses received from the government of the Faroe Islands; and whether they will place any written responses in the Library of the House.

Lord Gardiner of Kimble: At the time of writing, no formal written response has yet been received from the Faroese Government.However, as a result of our continued efforts, UK Government officials were invited to a meeting this month with officials from the Representation of the Faroes. This initial meeting provided a valuable opportunity for an exchange of views and, importantly, presents an opportunity for further dialogue with the Faroese authorities on this issue.

Home Office

Immigrants: Detainees

Baroness Hamwee: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the recommendation by the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Refugees and the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Migration in the report of the inquiry into the Use of Immigration Detention in the United Kingdom published in March 2015 that the wording of the Government’s policy on the detention of individuals with mental illnesses should be changed to that which was in place before August 2010.

Baroness Hamwee: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the extent to which medical professionals are using the definition of torture as defined in R (EO & Ors) v SSHD [2013] EWHC 1236 (Admin) when completing Rule 35 reports in respect of persons in immigration detention.

Lord Bates: Stephen Shaw CBE, the former Prisons and Probation Ombudsman for England and Wales, has recently submitted his review into the welfare of vulnerable immigration detainees, including those with mental health difficulties and those who claim to have been victims of torture. He has recently submitted his report to Ministers at the Home Office and Department of Health. His findings are being carefully considered. The report will be published in due course by laying it before Parliament, alongside the Government’s response to the recommendations.Doctors working in immigration removal centres have been reminded of the need to use the definition of torture set out in the case of R (EO & Ors) v SSHD [2013] EWHC 1236 (Admin) when completing reports under Rule 35(3) of the Detention Centre Rules 2001.

Asylum: Children

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what information they have about the claim by the government of Italy that, of the 13,026 children who arrived unaccompanied in Italy in 2014, 3,707 disappeared after arriving; what assessment they have made of where those children are; and what consideration they are giving to the request of Save the Children that the United Kingdom should provide refuge for 3,000 unaccompanied children.

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what discussions they have had with other European Union member states about children who have arrived in Europe unaccompanied or separated from family members; what assessment they have made of the vulnerability of such children; and what they are doing to ensure that those children are prioritised for security and shelter.

Lord Bates: The UK recognises the need to provide protection to those fleeing persecution. However, it is an accepted principle that asylum seekers should seek protection in the first safe country they reach. In line with their international obligations, EU Member States have a responsibility to register and process all asylum claims made on their territory, including those made by unaccompanied children. This extends to providing adequate support and accommodation.The Government has been consistently clear that we do not agree with the relocation of asylum seekers between Member States. We believe it will act as a pull factor, and that it does not address the cause of the problem but simply moves it around the EU. Making an exception for children makes little sense as they are on the territory of Member States who have duties to protect and support them.

Internet: Fraud

Lord Birt: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their latest estimate of (1) the number of instances of internet frauds committed annually in the United Kingdom, and (2) the level of financial loss that is caused annually in the United Kingdom by internet fraud.

Lord Bates: The Home Office does not hold data centrally on the number of internet frauds committed annually in the United Kingdom. The Office for National Statistics recently published a provisional estimate of 5.1 million fraud offences a year in England and Wales, based on trial data from a survey of 2,000 people. This did not include details of how many frauds were internet related.The ONS also published the number of frauds referred to the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau (NFIB) in the year to June 2015 – 599,689. It is not possible to establish exactly how many of these were internet related.The Home Office does not hold data centrally on the level of financial loss caused annually in the UK by internet fraud. The Home Office ‘Costs of cyber crime’ working group seeks to agree on the best available data for formulating any estimates and develop an agreed model for assessing the social and economic costs of cyber crime. Working group members are drawn from a field of multi-disciplinary academics, industry representatives and other experts involved in cyber crime and cyber security

Police: Finance

Lord Greaves: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what amendments were made to the formula for police funding following the consultation process with individual police forces.

Lord Bates: We received over 1,700 responses to our recent public consultation on proposed police funding reforms. The overwhelming view from respondents was supportive of a new formula and the principles we set out. We have carefully analysed the feedback received and, in light of this, are proposing a number of refinements to the model:- retain population volume and households with no adults employed and dependent children as core indicators;- clarify that the second population characteristic we intend to use is the updated ‘urban adversity’ version of the Acorn 5 indicator which has replaced the old ‘hard pressed’ version (this ensures that the model is in line with CACI Limited’s current Acorn classifications);- revise the bar density measure so that it takes account of bar volume as well as bar density, reflecting strong consultation feedback that this better captures scale and the impact of clusters of bars and the night-time economy within a force area;- remove ‘Band D equivalent properties’ as a core indicator, reflecting strong consultation feedback that this variable did not adequately capture the ability to raise additional precept income as intended;- add an Area Cost Adjustment (ACA) to the model to reflect regional variations in the cost base.These proposed refinements to the model produce an adjusted set of weightings across the remaining four core indicators as follows:VariableWeighting Population volume30%Households with no adults employed and dependent children31%Urban adversity/Acorn 531%Volume and density of bars8%The Policing Minister wrote to all PCCs and Chiefs on 8 October to provide detail on the proposed refinements and to set out the indicative force-level impact and invite further comments.We will then finalise the model in light of further feedback received.

Asylum: Appeals

Lord Roberts of Llandudno: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether, in the light of the judgment in Lord Chancellor v Detention Action [2015] EWCA Civ 840, they will reconsider the sections of the Immigration Bill that provide for individuals having to appeal their cases after deportation.

Lord Bates: The judgement in Lord Chancellor v Detention Action is not relevant to the changes in the Immigration Bill. That judgment relates to the appeals processes for asylum claims under the Fast Track procedure rules. The provision in the Immigration Bill which extends the power to certify to require appeals to be brought from overseas where that will not result in a breach of human rights applies only to human rights claims.The Court of Appeal recently considered the operation of the certification provisions that were introduced in the Immigration Act 2014, for those liable to deportation and held that the provisions were lawfully applied. The changes in the Immigration Bill extends this power to all human rights claims and the Government thinks it right to build on this successful legislation.

Refugees: Employment

Lord Roberts of Llandudno: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether, in the light of the current migration situation, they will make changes to allow refugees to work in the United Kingdom immediately, or within six months, of arrival, in order to allow refugees to contribute to the British economy, and reduce pressure on refugees facing destitution.

Lord Roberts of Llandudno: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what financial support is available specifically for refugees who have been granted asylum in the United Kingdom, and are therefore ineligible for the weekly allowance for asylum seekers.

Lord Bates: Those granted refugee status or humanitarian protection, including those resettled under our three resettlement schemes, are entitled to work without restriction and have full access to the mainstream benefits system on the same terms as British citizens and other permanent residents in the UK. Asylum seekers are only permitted to work in the UK if their asylum claim has been outstanding for more than 12 months, providing the delay is not of their making. Employment is restricted to jobs on the shortage occupations list. We have no plans to reduce the time asylum seekers have to wait to take up employment.

Refugees: Eritrea

Lord Hylton: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will revise the country guidance for Eritrea so that asylum applicants from that country are favourably considered for protection as refugees, in the light of the Report of the Commission of Inquiry on Human Rights on Eritrea and other reports of human rights abuses in that country.

Lord Hylton: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to call upon all European Union member states to uphold the principle of non-refoulement for refugees from Eritrea.

Lord Bates: We have updated our country information and guidance on Eritrea. This takes into account the UN Commission of Inquiry’s report as well other sources reporting on the human rights situation. The revised documents, covering illegal exit and national service, were published on 9 September and are available on the Gov.uk website. They recognise that there are human rights challenges in Eritrea – particularly around the national service programme – but, as with all asylum applications, stress the need to consider each claim on its individual merits.All EU Member States have a responsibility to respect the principle of non-refoulement. We are confident that our European partners understand and apply this, whether to Eritrea or anywhere else. We are in regular discussions with our EU counterparts – individually and via the European Asylum Support Office – to discuss various aspects of asylum policy and practice.

Police: Biometrics

Lord Scriven: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the review of the framework within which police forces use and retain custody images is yet complete; if so, what advice has been circulated to police forces as a result; and if not, why not.

Lord Bates: The review has not yet been completed. It is important that the issues identified by the review are properly tested with operational decision makers, so as to appropriately balance the protection of personal data and privacy with the public protection benefits and the operational need.Due to the complexity of the operational and legal issues raised in the evidence gathering stage and the number of important stakeholders, this work is yet to be completed.

Prostitution

Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what benefits they found resulted from the national Ugly Mugs Scheme piloted by the Home Office; whether it was assessed as good value for money; and if so, what was the result.

Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer: To ask Her Majesty’s Government which police forces contributed to the national Ugly Mugs Scheme during 2014–15.

Lord Bates: The National Ugly Mugs Scheme is a mechanism for reporting crimes committed against people involved in prostitution. The Home Office provided £108,000 for the pilot scheme that ran from April 2012 to March 2013, coordinated by the UK Network of Sex Worker Projects. The evaluation of the pilot is available on its website.The previous Government supported the pilot as part of its drive to end violence against women and girls. This Government is pleased that the evaluation of the scheme shows that it was successful in increasing access to justice and protection for those involved in prostitution. Police forces have been encouraged to contribute financially to the scheme, given its crime prevention focus and its role in encouraging reporting and contributing to intelligence. That is a decision for individual forces, and the Home Office does not collect information regarding which forces have contributed.

Police: Finance

Lord Greaves: To ask Her Majesty’s Government to what extent the proposed new police forces funding formula is weighted to reflect the importance of (1) historic crime levels, (2) historic clear-up levels, and (3) preventative and educative work; and in what ways it reflects policy relating to the maintenance of a network of neighbourhood policing.

Lord Bates: Our proposed funding model is based on a set of four indicators which correlate well with long term patterns of crime. The indicators cover population, population characteristics and environmental characteristics. They are used as proxies for police demand and are based on objective, robust and reliable data that can be compared across all force areas.Decisions about the size and composition of the police workforce are an operational matter for chief officers, working with their Police and Crime Commissioner.We continue to strongly support neighbourhood policing, and are committed to the principle that tackling local crime and anti-social behaviour should be a priority for the whole force - not just neighbourhood policing teams – working collaboratively with other local agencies, businesses and residents to respond to the problems they face.

Asylum: Appeals

Lord Green of Deddington: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Bates on 19 October (HL2532), which specific elements of European law require the right to challenge an adverse asylum decision via an effective remedy; and whether the nature of such a remedy is prescribed.

Lord Bates: Article 39 of the Asylum Procedures Directive requires that EU member states must provide an effective remedy before a Court or Tribunal in respect of a decision taken on a person’s asylum application.The nature of the remedy is not prescribed beyond requiring it to be before a Court or Tribunal.

Trafficking and Kidnap Unit

Baroness Jolly: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how much funding was allocated to the Human Trafficking and Kidnap Unit of the Metropolitan Police Service in (1) 2012–13, (2) 2013–14, and (3) 2014–15.

Baroness Jolly: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many permanent members of staff are employed within the Human Trafficking and Kidnap Unit of the Metropolitan Police Service, and what staffing changes are envisaged in the next year.

Lord Bates: The Government takes modern slavery very seriously and the Modern Slavery Strategy sets out our approach to improving the law enforcement response. We expect individual forces to allocate adequate resources to tackling serious crime including modern slavery, within the overall level of funding available to them. However, decisions about the specific level of funding and staffing for specific units within the Metropolitan Police, such as the Human Trafficking and Kidnap Unit, are matters for the Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police and the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime.

Cycling: Road Traffic Offences

Lord Wills: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the number of breaches of traffic laws and regulations by bicyclists in each of the last five years.

Lord Bates: No assessment has been made of the number of breaches of traffic laws and regulations by bicyclists in each of the last five years. This information is not held centrally. It is important that cyclists follow the rules of the Highway Code. It is an operational matter for local Chief Officers to enforce the law.

HM Treasury

Government Departments: Accountancy

Lord Butler of Brockwell: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many ministerial directions have been issued to accounting officers in the last 10 years, and in which departments.

Lord O'Neill of Gatley: There have been 27 ministerial directions between 2005 and 2015.The departments they were issued in were: Department of Trade and Industry; Ministry of Defence; Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform; HM Treasury; Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs; Department for Communities and Local Government; Ministry of Justice; Department for Business, Innovation and Skills; Department for Transport; and the Cabinet Office.

Iron and Steel: China

Lord Kinnock: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what discussions the Chancellor of the Exchequer has had, during and since his recent official visit to China, with the government of China and Chinese industrialists about steel production and trade; whether, in those discussions, the Chancellor of the Exchequer has raised the issue of steel products dumping; and if so, what response he has received.

Lord O'Neill of Gatley: There has been very substantial ministerial engagement with the Chinese government in recent months, both here and in China.During the course of those meetings, developments in the steel market were discussed on numerous occasions,including in discussions between the Prime Minister, Chancellor and President Xi during the State Visit. It was also raised by the Business Secretary.Our relationship with China includes regular discussions of the market reforms needed to underpin growth in both our countries. This Chinese State Visit is delivering over £30bn of trade and investment deals.

Child Tax Credit

Lord Kirkwood of Kirkhope: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many families (1) with a disabled child, (2) where a parent has died, and (3) in problem debt, they estimate will be affected by limiting the child element of tax credits to the first two children.

Lord O'Neill of Gatley: The information requested is not readily available and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Welfare Tax Credits: Self-employed

Baroness Lister of Burtersett: To ask Her Majesty’s Government (1) how many, and (2) what proportion, of those affected by the cuts to tax credits due to take effect in 2016 are self-employed.

Lord O'Neill of Gatley: This information is not available.This Government is committed to moving from a high welfare, high tax, low wage economy to a lower welfare, lower tax, higher wage society. As the Chancellor has made clear, the Government will set out at Autumn Statement how we plan to achieve the same goal of reforming tax credits, saving the money we need to save to secure our economy, while at the same time helping in the transition.

Child Tax Credit

Baroness Manzoor: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many (1) children, (2) kinship carers, and (3) victims of domestic violence, they estimate will be affected by limiting the child element of tax credits to the first two children.

Lord O'Neill of Gatley: This information requested is not readily available and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Offshore Industry: Decommissioning

Baroness Worthington: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what measures are in place to limit the exposure of the public purse to costs arising through reliefs and repayments of Ring Fence Corporation Tax, Petroleum Revenue Tax, and the Supplementary Charge, incurred by the decommissioning of North Sea oil and gas infrastructure.

Lord O'Neill of Gatley: The Government believes in making the most of the UK’s oil and gas resources – to date the oil and gas industry has contributed £330bn to the Exchequer and is the UK’s largest industrial investor, supporting hundreds of thousands of jobs, supplying a large portion of the UK’s primary energy needs and making a significant contribution to GDP. With between 11 and 21 billion barrels of oil equivalent still to be exploited, the UK Continental Shelf can continue to provide considerable economic benefits for many years to come.The Government is committed to ensuring decommissioning programmes represent value for money, which is why we have introduced provisions through the Energy Bill to:require decommissioning programmes to be cost effective;ensure the Oil and Gas Authority has the powers it needs to scrutinise companies’ decommissioning plans to ensure they are cost effective; andenable the Secretary of State to require a company to take specific action to reduce the costs of decommissioning to address cost overruns.

Overseas Loans: Republic of Ireland

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how much the government of the Republic of Ireland has borrowed from Her Majesty's Government, and what are the arrangements for repayment.

Lord O'Neill of Gatley: I refer the noble Lord to the most recent statutory report which the Treasury provided to Parliament as required by Section 2 of the Loans to Ireland Act 2010. The last report was laid before Parliament on 15 October 2015 and is available in the Printed Paper OfficeThis report shows the outstanding loan principal is £3,226,960,000, with repayments due in tranches from 15 April 2019, until 26 March 2021.

Department for Energy and Climate Change

Electricity Generation

Lord Stoddart of Swindon: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth on 21 October (HL2529), how the loss of coal-fired generating capacity will be made up, what level of spare capacity will be maintained between 2015 and 2020, how they will ensure that disconnections or significant reductions in voltage do not occur, and whether compensation will be available to victims of such measures should they happen.

Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth: From 2018, the Capacity Market will ensure that retiring plant can be replaced by new investment by providing additional secure investment for both existing and new electricity generators. In the meantime, National Grid secures adequate loss of load expectation through the Contingency Balancing Reserve in which additional power stations are held to provide security in times of system stress.Both facilities deliver against the statutory reliability standard of 3 hours of loss of load expectation, a level as high as anywhere else in Europe. Loss of load expectation does not equate to the number of disconnections in a year, but is the estimated number of hours in a year that the System Operator (National Grid) needs to intervene in the market in order the maintain supply. For 2015/16, National Grid procured 2.4GW of reserve to deliver a loss of load expectation of 1.1 hours, sufficient to maintain security of supply even in the toughest system conditions.

Department of Health

Sugar: Alcoholic Drinks

Lord Brooke of Alverthorpe: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will take further steps to advise the public about the amount of sugar in alcohol.

Lord Prior of Brampton: We are not currently planning any national policies on nutrition labelling of alcohol. However, some businesses are choosing to label calories voluntarily on their alcoholic beverages. The possibility of mandating calorie labelling on alcohol is under discussion at European Union level.

Health: Screening

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what response they plan to make to the recent article published in the Journal of Public Health reporting on the costs and benefits of health checks for 40 to 74 year olds.

Lord Prior of Brampton: Public Health England (PHE) provided a response to Capewell et al’s article on NHS Health Check, which appeared in the same issue of the Journal of Public Health.PHE’s Chief Executive also responded in letters published in the Guardian and the British Medical Journal (BMJ), and through a special e-bulletin to NHS Health Check stakeholders. Copies of the article and responses have been placed in the Library.

Sugar: Taxation

Baroness Jones of Whitchurch: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the case for a sugar tax on sweetened drinks in order to tackle the rise in obesity.

Lord Prior of Brampton: There are no plans to introduce a tax on sugar-sweetened drinks. However, we keep all taxes under review, with decisions being a matter for the Chancellor as part of the Budget process.Calorie reduction, including sugar reduction, is being considered as part of the development of the Government’s childhood obesity strategy which is due in the coming months.

Hepatitis

Baroness Masham of Ilton: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the timetable for (1) the completion, and (2) the publication, of the hepatitis C improvement framework.

Lord Prior of Brampton: Completion and publication dates for the hepatitis C framework have not yet been confirmed. In the meantime, Public Health England continues working with NHS England and Operational Development Networks to establish a process of monitoring treatment access and uptake.

Hepatitis

Baroness Masham of Ilton: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, to date, how many patients have commenced treatment under NHS England's commissioning policy for the treatment of cirrhosis in adults with hepatitis C, and how much that commissioning policy has cost.

Lord Prior of Brampton: NHS England has invested in two policies enabling access to some of the new treatments (in advance of the publication of National Institute for Health and Care Excellence technology appraisals) for patients with hepatitis C with the greatest clinical need.NHS England’s Interim Clinical Commissioning Policy Statement of April 2014 provided an Early Access Scheme for around 1,000 patients with decompensated cirrhosis. Then in June 2015, NHS England extended that policy so the next group of patients with the greatest clinical need, those with cirrhosis, could also benefit from the new Direct Acting Antivirals. A copy of both of these policies has been attached.Between publication of the cirrhosis policy in June and 19 October, NHS England received over 1,900 notifications of decisions to treat under the policy. These notifications are submitted by treating clinicians and confirm that patients meet the policy criteria.In order to confirm the actual cost of this policy, NHS England needs to complete a process of validating treatment notifications against actual trust reported activity and invoicing data on dispensed drugs. These data sources are submitted at different times and so an accurate assessment of the cost of the policy to date will not be able to be possible until the end of the year. Any data shared on the cost of the policy will need to observe commercial in confidence pricing agreements.Based on preliminary modelling, NHS England set aside £190 million in 2015-16 for the treatment of hepatitis C.



Sofosbuvir Policy Statement
(PDF Document, 444.08 KB)




Hep C Policy Statement
(PDF Document, 468.76 KB)

Ebola: Sierra Leone

Baroness Hayman: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the answer by Baroness Verma on 19 October (HL Deb, col 438), whether they will publish a risk assessment on the threat to "the safety of the British public" which would be posed by the resumption of direct flights from the United Kingdom to Sierra Leone.

Lord Prior of Brampton: Public Health England’s latest published risk assessment to the United Kingdom population posed by the Ebola outbreak in West Africa was on 24 June 2015 and is attached. The Government continually assesses the risk and any proposals to resume direct flights will be considered by the Government in the context of these assessments.



Ebola Risk Assesment
(PDF Document, 178.84 KB)

Mental Patients

Lord Ouseley: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many incidents requiring the attendance of the police occurred on mental health wards in the past 12 months; what were the ethnic, gender and age characteristics of the patients involved; and what was the ratio of staff to patients at the time of each incident.

Lord Prior of Brampton: This information is not collected centrally.

Compulsorily Detained Mental Patients

Lord Ouseley: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many patients are detained in medium and high security psychiatric hospitals; and how many such patients there are broken down by (1) ethnicity, (2) gender, (3) age, and (4) the length of time detained under the different segregated regimes.

Lord Prior of Brampton: The information is not collected in the format requested.

Alzheimer's Disease: Drugs

Lord Lucas: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will ask general practitioners who prescribe antifungals to patients with Alzheimer's disease to notify the National Health Service of the results of that treatment, in the light of the article published online by Nature on 15 October regarding the infection of different brain regions with fungi in Alzheimer's.

Lord Prior of Brampton: The use of antifungal medication is not licensed for the treatment of patients with Alzheimer's disease. Consequently there would be no requirement for systematic monitoring of the use of these drugs.

Herbal Medicine: Regulation

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they will respond to the Herbal Medicines and Practitioners Working Group report on the regulation of herbal practitioners published in March.

Lord Prior of Brampton: The Government response to the Report on the Regulation of Herbal Medicines and Practitioners will be published by the end of 2015.

Herbal Medicine: Regulation

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of whether, and to what extent, the report of the Herbal Medicines and Practitioners Working Group on the regulation of herbal practitioners represented the views solely of the Chairman.

Lord Prior of Brampton: The Report on the Regulation of Herbal Medicines and Practitioners is Professor Walker’s independent advice to Government. As the Report acknowledges this advice was informed by the input of the Working Group.

Herbal Medicine: Regulation

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the report of the Herbal Medicines and Practitioners Working Group on the regulation of herbal practitioners was signed off by all members of that group.

Lord Prior of Brampton: The independent Report on the Regulation of Herbal Medicines and Practitioners is Professor Walker’s and so, although the Herbal Medicines and Practitioners Working Group informed the development the Report, it was not signed off by the Group.

Herbal Medicine: Regulation

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the governance arrangements of the Herbal Medicines and Practitioners Working Group report on the regulation of herbal practitioners.

Lord Prior of Brampton: As an independent Working Group the governance arrangements were a matter for the Chair and members of the Herbal Medicines and Practitioners Working Group to determine. The Working Group agreed its terms of reference and membership.

Herbal Medicine: Regulation

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the draft report of the Herbal Medicines and Practitioners Working Group was shared informally amongst members of that group prior to publication.

Lord Prior of Brampton: As an independent Working Group, the informal sharing of the Report was a matter for the Chair to determine.